Nine acts are set to perform on four stages located at 1 Cannery Row: Staind, Alter Bridge, and Devour The Day on the outdoor main stage starting at 6 p.m. and Jim Breuer Band, Kyng, 10 Years, Twelve Foot Ninja, Heaven’s Basement and Truckfighters performing late-night sets in Mercy Lounge, Cannery Ballroom at The High Watt.

Tickets for the 18-and-up event go on sale at 10 a.m. Fri., March 14 at www.rockontherow.com. Festival passes granting access to the outdoor concert as well as all late-night shows are $75, and VIP packages are $200.

Aaron Lewis is best known as the frontman for alt-rock mainstays Staind ("It's Been Awhile," "So Far Away"), but he's embracing his country roots on his debut solo album, The Road, which hits stores on September 11.

Shelton, host of the show, jokingly told those participating they had to step it up this year.

“I want to talk about something that happened last year, more specifically the country artists that are here, the teams,” he said. “You guys suck. It’s embarrassing. Craig, you have a (darn) hunting show. And, Gary LeVox won this last year. That sucks. Let’s raise the bar for God’s sakes. Sober up.”

While many participants in the competition are big hunters, including Morgan, Lewis, Shelton and Brice (who says he has a “eat-what-you-kill” policy), the Perry brothers say they honed their gun skills at the firing range.

“It seems like easier to go out and shoot skeet than, it is 4 o’clock in the morning waiting for something to walk by,” Neil says.

ST. LOUIS - Rock band Staind released its latest album, the self-titled Staind, by the skin of its teeth.

Singer Aaron Lewis describes the recording process for its seventh studio album as ugly, and the deluxe version of Staind comes with a documentary detailing that time.

"(It was) definitely a difficult and trying process," Lewis says. "In the middle of it all, it was so bad we lost our drummer."

The band members' personal lives were busy during the process, he says.

"I was in the middle of doing my vocals for the Staind record when my solo record came out, so I was working on my solo record," he says. "I was touring solo and recording the Staind record. And I was also trying to be a husband and father in there."

The band's official site gave the heads up on Monday that fresh Paramore tune "Monster" will appear on the Transformers: Dark Of The Moon soundtrack. A video is also reportedly in the works for the song.

The film is due to hit theaters on July 1, with the soundtrack whetting appetites for the action flick with a June 7 release. Other acts contributing to the soundtrack include Staind, Taking Back Sunday, My Chemical Romance and others.

Meanwhile, it looks like Farro fans will have to wait a bit longer for music from the brothers' new outfit, Novel American. The band updated fans in a May 10 Facebook post that they'd parted ways with singer Van Beasley.

They did note, however, that they intended to continue as a band.

"We are all very excited to see how God will continue to evolve and define our sound and us," the post reads. "We know this may be disappointing to hear for everyone who is ready for some songs to be released, but we are absolutely certain that this process will result in Novel American being the absolute best it can be. The future looks very exciting!"

Paramore returns to the road in July and August for a string of overseas dates and a short North American stint on the Vans Warped Tour.

CMT’s Evan Farmer and Today show hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb announced the nominees Wednesday on the NBC morning show.

Crow and Lewis weren't the only traditionally non-country acts CMT roped into the nominee list. Teen pop star Justin Bieber earned a nod for his duet with Rascal Flatts, “That Should Be Me”; rock band Train snagged one for their performance of “A Broken Wing” with Martina McBride on the network’s Crossroads series, John Mayer showing up for his Crossroads teaming with Urban; and soul-pop singer Adele joins the list for her performance of Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now” with Darius Rucker on the 2010 CMT Artists of the Year television special.

Fans can vote for their favorite artists online at CMT.com through June 7 to determine the winners.

The CMT Awards will air live at 7 p.m. on June 8 from Nashville. The show's venue and ticket on-sale date are yet to be announced. Check after the jump for the full of nominees.Continue reading →

Singer/songwriter Aaron Lewis, best known as the frontman for hard-rock act Staind, is switching things up with his new country album Town Line.

“I felt like it was the best fit for the way that I write songs,” Lewis told The Tennessean. “Usually the lyrics to my songs really mean something, and that seems to resonate through country music”

And fans seem to have accepted it. The album debuted last week at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart and No. 7 on the multi-genre Top 200 Albums Chart.

As for what his Staind bandmates think of the crossover, Lewis said, “They are as supportive as they could be expected to be and … I have assured them that I’m not going anywhere.”

Lewis added that he sees this as sort of a natural progression for his music.

“This will unblur the line that has been blurred over the years by the songs that I bring to the table,” he said. “Staind can go back to being the heavy band that we started out as and my mellow ideas can be the ideas that turn into what these [country] songs are.”

The group, known for hits including "Rockstar," "How You Remind Me" and "If Everyone Cared," recorded an easygoing summertime video for new single "This Afternoon." The video is now in rotation on CMT.

"This Afternoon" is the eighth single from the band's Darkhorse CD and label representatives said there were no plans for an entire country album. The song’s future on country music radio — specifically whether it has one, or if the band even wants the tune to be played there — is unclear. In the meantime, watch the "This Afternoon" video above.